Artwork Page for Shiva Seated on a Throne in a Landscape

Details / Information for Shiva Seated on a Throne in a Landscape

Shiva Seated on a Throne in a Landscape

c. 1755

Northern India, Pahari kingdoms

Medium
gum tempera on paper
Measurements
Page: 30.2 x 21.9 cm (11 7/8 x 8 5/8 in.); Image: 28.3 x 19.8 cm (11 1/8 x 7 13/16 in.)
Credit Line
Purchase and partial gift from the Catherine and Ralph Benkaim Collection; Severance and Greta Millikin Purchase Fund 2018.113
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
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Did You Know?

Shiva is clad in tiger hide wrapped around his waist.

Description

Shiva is depicted sitting on snakes coiled up together on a royal seat. The scene is set in a rocky mountainous setting with a row of trees in the background. In the paintings from Chamba, Shiva is usually depicted with a white complexion in three-quarter view. This formula has remained consistent for over a century with very few exceptions.
A vertically oriented tempera painting depicts Shiva, a light-skinned figure with hair piled high, seated cross-legged on a coiled white serpent atop a jeweled yellow throne. He wears a spotted leopard-skin wrap and snakes around his neck and hair. A trident with a small drum stands to our left. Behind him, rounded pinkish hills undulate beneath stylized green trees and a yellow sky. A thick red border frames the composition.

Shiva Seated on a Throne in a Landscape

c. 1755

Northern India, Pahari kingdoms

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